Welcoming the Class of 2021 | Message from the Dean

Message from the Dean | August 2017

Welcoming the Class of 2021

I know it's hard to believe, but today marks the beginning of the last month of summer. As sad as that might be, it does signal the beginning of a new semester and the welcoming of the School of Veterinary Medicine's Class of 2021. Orientation for our 96 incoming DVM students will be held August 23-25, 2017, with many activities planned for the Class of 2021 by the Office of Academic Affairs.

This month also highlights the SVM's ongoing commitment to financial literacy. The school is presenting a financial literacy seminar for our postgraduate trainees on August 10. I encourage our young faculty, residents, interns, and graduate students to attend and learn more about personal budgeting, retirement savings, handling student debt, negotiations, and how to develop a budget. The Office of Academic Affairs will host an additional session for DVM students on August 17. More details, including an RSVP for the event, will be sent to all students via email.

On August 11, 2017 at 3:00 p.m., we will officially celebrate the opening of the Renk Learning Center and, for the first time, present the celebration on Facebook Live. I encourage you to like the SVM on Facebook to receive updates about the event and follow along with our tour of the new space.

As you know, the school is focused on supporting the mental health and wellness of our faculty, staff, and students, for the benefit of both individuals and the overall SVM community. One of our pathways for support is the school's wellness initiative that our wellness committee developed this year. I want to thank all of the committee members for their efforts and encourage faculty, staff, and students to attend any of the monthly activities that appeal to you.

Finally, I want to remind you of the SVM and the UW-Madison's efforts to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence. There is now an online training module available on how to recognize, prevent, and respond to sexual assault and sexual violence in the workplace, which is required to be completed by all employees by September 30, 2017. This effort will help UW-Madison make a positive difference in assuring the safety of all members of the campus community.

I hope all of you have a great remainder of your summer.

UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director

Please join me in welcoming our new residents! They are

Alexandre Ellis (Shelter Medicine), Sarah Holman (Small Animal Surgery) , Rikki Horne (Pharmacy), Casandra Jacobs (Small Animal Internal Medicine), Laura Lee DVM'17 (Anatomic Pathology), Timothy Menghini (Small Animal Surgery), Cameron Ratliff (Zoological Medicine), Jessica Robertson (Dentistry and Oral Surgery), Nora Sheehan DVM'16 (Cardiology), Casey Smith (Neurology/Neurosurgery), Kevin Snyder DVM'16 (Ophthalmology), Nathaniel Van Asselt (Radiation Oncology), and Elizabeth Wood (Oncology) .

Welcome also to Kim Vukovich, who started as our new night ward technician last week. She will be providing treatments to patients in the surgery ward, medicine ward, oncology, and special species.

Congratulations are in order for several of our current and recent residents. Caitlin Barry-Heffernan and Ryan Bray (Small Animal Internal Medicine); Laura Barnard (Neurology); Kayla Grint (Cardiology); and Katelyn Marlowe (Oncology) each passed their general qualifying board exams. Kim Shaffer and Nate Vos (Oncology); Danielle Hagen (Small Animal Internal Medicine); and Bonnie Oliphant (Neurology) each passed their specialty board exams. Clinical Instructor and recent resident Sonja Tjostheim (Cardiology) also passed her specialty examination.

Our client surveys continue to be filled with positive feedback. Here is just one example from the last month:

"First of all, thank goodness that there is a UW Vet Hospital! Everyone is so kind and reassuring, which is wonderful for a stressed out 'pet parent.' I left understanding what was going on with my dog and knowing what I should do at home. We have a plan for the future. My only problem was waiting for a room to open up, but that was minor."

-- Lee, Deerfield, Wisconsin

Ruthanne Chun DVM'91
Director, UW Veterinary Care
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs

School News

The summer 2017 issue of On Call is on its way to mailboxes, and additional copies can be found in the Veterinary Medical Building and Hanson Labs. You can also read the online edition.

Welcome back to Simon Lygo-Baker, who is joining us once again from July through September. Simon hails from the Department of Higher Education at the University of Surrey and will be working with SVM faculty and staff on several aspects of teaching and learning, including continued development of a program to support teaching by technicians/technologists, residents, and interns, curricular integration, and peer support of teaching.

Faculty and Staff News

Welcome to Meghan Lepisto, who is joining the school's Advancement team today as our new publications and media relations manager. Meghan comes to the SVM from the Nelson Institute, where she has been responsible for their magazine, website, media relations, and social media since 2011.

Research News

The Comparative Biomedical Sciences Training Grant has been awarded another five-year period of funding from the National Institutes of Health. This will support advanced research training for four graduate veterinarians for each of the next five years.

The new Upper Midwestern Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases, co-directed by Lyric Bartholomay, identified the Asian tiger mosquito, which can spread the Zika virus, for the first time in Wisconsin.

University Communications recently highlighted research from Tony Goldberg and colleagues that explores the relationship of an African forest bat, a novel virus and a parasite. Their work, published in Nature Scientific Reports, identifies all three players as potentially new species, at least at the molecular level as determined by their genetic sequences.